


The Horse of Trains and Tears

by PolkaDot_BowTie



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Centaur AU, Centaur Designs on Tumblr, Disabilities, Farmer Thomas, H O W D Y P A R N T N E R, Haha Country'sides', How Do I Tag, I Blame Tumblr, I NEEDED PEOPLE FOR THE TOWN SUE ME, JANUS IS A ZEBRA, M/M, Ranches, Rescue and Rehabilitaion, Safety Ranch, The Oc's are just fillers, The sides are Centaurs, Theraputic Horse friends, Therapy, We in Texas, bAD PUNS FOR pAT, countryside, i guess, not florida, slow burn???
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-13
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:14:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24127234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PolkaDot_BowTie/pseuds/PolkaDot_BowTie
Summary: Thomas Sanders is a farmer and Ranch owner in the middle of Nowhere, Texas. He's quite happy in his little ranch and his small herd of seven, enjoying the peaceful life. However, when one morning he gets a call from the sheriff explaining a situation involving a rogue centaur, its up to Thomas and the centaurs to help this injured soul, and get him to open up... Are they up to the challenge?
Relationships: Dr. Emile Picani/Sleep | Remy Sanders
Comments: 8
Kudos: 47





	1. A Call at Dawn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thomas is chilling. Just enjoying his life so far, when one Saturday morning, he gets a peculiar call from Joan.

The moon’s soft and gentle glow caressed the meadow as the dazzling grass danced in the breeze. Thomas leaned against the barn door, arms crossed, lost in thought. He could hear the noise from inside the barn, the centaurs watching something on the TV he had brought them as he gazed out at the wonderful view from his small ranch in the middle of nowhere. Over time, Thomas had taken in injured centaurs from evil people. They had run away, abandoned their previous lives in exchange for a home that would not treat them like animals. Centaurs were people, had minds and souls and hearts. Just as sentient as humans yet treated like slaves for the entertainment of their masters. The thought sent a shiver down Thomas’ spine, the fact that so many centaurs were still being mistreated made his heart sink. He was helping as many that found him, since he couldn’t just go out and look for them, he’d have no idea where to start. And besides, he already had a small herd on his hands anyway.

Thomas smiled at the moon before turning around and closing the barn door. The human walked inside, being greeted by a sight that made his inside frolic with delight.

Currently, Thomas had seven Centaurs residing in his barn. Two that he’d raised from foals: Patton and Emile. Although they weren’t related, they treated each other as brothers, both being Appaloosas. Then you had the first arrival, a pair of twin racehorses: Roman and Remus. The twins were gorgeous red thoroughbreds and had white socks on opposite legs. They both loved to race but were never desired to be racers their entire lives. They were going to be sold off, bred to make more beautiful racers and to continue their pedigree lineage. Thankfully, the twins ran before that could happen, ending up on Thomas’ doorstep to be taken in and cared for.

Next was Virgil, a midnight black Friesian that had escaped abuse at a travelling circus. He’d ended up here, after passing out from the pain in his hooves where his masters would whip him. They’d abuse his hooves since they’d rather not damage his body. It was sick, thank goodness he’d ended up with Thomas.

Then you have Janus. Janus is a zebra centaur, having escaped from a zoo. The zebra was a pathological liar, but Thomas eventually got the truth out of him, using kindness and patience.

Finally, you had Remy. Remy was a white Lipizzaner, a Spanish horse known for their showy nature. In all honesty, Thomas had never met a Centaur that loved coffee as much as Remy did. The centaur had a habit of wandering into town and getting take-outs and coffee for everyone on the ranch. The small town was only a five-minute walk from Thomas’ secluded little hideaway, and thankfully, everyone residing there were friends of the ranch.

Thomas walked into the main area of his barn and saw all the centaurs curled up together, watching the climax to _Mulan_. He laughed breathily at the sight and sighed. This was perfect. Roman seemed to notice him lingering and called the human over.

“Thomathy! Come over here! It’s finally getting good!” Roman declared, shuffling over slightly so Thomas could sit between him and Remus.

“You’re not going to ruin this one like you did the last ones, are you?” Virgil snarked, quirking an eyebrow at the ex-racer.

“No promises…” Roman snorted. Thomas smiled fondly at the centaurs’ light-hearted banter. They were sweet.

Finally, the movie ended, and Roman managed to keep his mouth shut the entire time. Thomas stood up, popped his shoulders and said,

“Alright, everyone, time for bed.” There were scattered groans and whines, but nobody physically protested. The sound of hooves tapping filled the air as the centaurs filed out, and into their stalls. Thomas gave everyone their blankets and wished everyone goodnight and switching off the lights.

He walked down the little path to his cottage, feeling the cool air surround him. Thomas hummed, content.

The human farmer changed into some pyjamas he’d left out this morning, brushed his teeth, and got into bed, quickly being whisked away into the realm of dreams.

The next morning, Thomas wasn’t awoken by his stomach or alarm clock, rather his phone. Odd…

Oh well, nothing too strange, probably someone from town calling to tell him that Remy wandered into town again. No biggie.

Blearily, the human reached over and picked up his phone. 8:32 am.

It was a Saturday, who’s calling so early on a Saturday? Unlocking his phone, Thomas checked the ID of the caller.

‘Joan 😊’ It read.

What was Joan calling for this early on a Saturday? Usually, they’d be with Talyn, monitoring that little bakery they owned together.

Thomas answered the call.

“Hello?” Thomas said, rubbing his eyes and sitting up in bed.

“Hey Tom, can I ask you something?” Joan asked.

“Umm… sure?” Thomas hesitated.

“How good are you at subduing rogue Centaurs?”


	2. A Runaway on the Streets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thomas, Virgil, Roman and Patton all go into town to help Joan with that Centaur he'd mentioned. They manage to get minimal information out of the tall stranger, but one fact remains a mystery: Their name...

“What?” Thomas asked, hopping out of bed.

“How good are you at subduing rogue Centaurs?” Joan asked again, patient as always. They said it so nonchalantly, as if they’d just asked him his favourite colour, or what day of the week it was.

“Umm… Mediocre? I don’t know, I’ve never had to before.” Thomas said, already getting changed out of his pyjamas. If they’d asked him this, there must be a reason.

“Well, because the sheriff and deputy are trying to corner a Centaur downtown, and they’re not having much luck. Could you come and help? Bring the centaurs too!” And with that, they hung up, leaving Thomas to sit there, confused.

He quickly snapped out of his stupor, however, and sprang into action, quickly readying himself for the day and running down to the barn.

Thomas pushed open the large barn doors and jogged down the hall.

Putting his fingers in his mouth, he whistled, startling his equestrian friends awake.

“Ah!”  
“Hey!”

“Thomas?!”  
“What was that for?!”

“Babes, you gotta find a better way to wake people up…”

“No time to explain!” Thomas rushed, shoving them out the door, “Joan needs help. There’s a rogue Centaur in town and they asked for us to help them!”

“Alright!” Patton said, turning around with his ‘Stern dad™’ voice. “Remy, Emile, Janus and Remus. You four stay here, if we do get this Centaur under control, we need to have a place ready for them. Roman, Virgil and I will go to town with Thomas and see what we can do. The size of this Centaur is unknown, and we don’t know how many of us we’ll need. If we need help, we’ll get Joan to call, stay alert. We’ll see you later.”

Patton turned around, allowed Thomas to clamber onto his back and together, the four of the took off into the direction of the village.

When they rode up, it was a ghost town. Shops were closed, houses remained shut, and there was nobody out. A shiver ran up Thomas’ spine. He’d never seen the happy village so barren, usually people would be out and enjoying the sunshine. This was not a good example of the town’s happy-smiley reputation.

Thomas was pulled from his thoughts when a distant whinny could be heard.

“This way!” Roman said, pointing down an alley which led to the main square. The three centaurs came to a halt just in front of the square. Sheriff Quil and Deputy Valerie, as well as Joan and Talyn were stood equal distance from each other. Inside their little bubble, was a tall Centaur (a Gypsey Vanner or and English draft, maybe?) with pitch black hair. Unlike the others, this centaur wasn’t wearing any clothes, instead a thick and uncomfortable-looking harness. Their coat was a charcoal grey and they had white feathered socks clawing up their legs, but something that caught Thomas’ attention was the branding on their left flank. The centaur kept rearing up, waving their fore hooves in the air frantically, threatened at the presence of more humans. Thomas took a step forward after sliding down from Patton’s back, but was abruptly stopped when Virgil put his arm in front of him.

Thomas glanced at Virgil quizzically, but softened at Virgil’s expression. It wasn’t one of fear, or anger, or apprehension like he’d expected, rather, sympathy and understanding.

“Virgil?” Thomas asked. The Friesian looked at him, then redirected his attention to the other Centaur.

“Look at their eyes, Thomas. They’re scared, like I was before you found me.” Virgil’s voice was soft, and he looked at the taller Centaur with raw sympathy. It was expression that Thomas had never seen on Virgil.

“Hey guys!” Virgil called to Joan, Talyn, Quil and Valerie, “Stand down for a few minutes, I’m gonna try something…”

Hesitantly, the humans backed away. The tall Centaur stopped rearing, watching with wide and frantic eyes as the humans stepped away. Shrill wickers died down, and the centaur stared at Virgil with an intense glare. Virgil stepped forward, hands up in a surrender-like gesture. The other Centaur snorted with distaste but made no other sign that they didn’t want Virgil near them.

“We’re not going to hurt you, I promise. We just want to help you.” The Friesian soothed, still walking ever closer.

When Virgil was just a few feet away, he held out a hand. Previously wide and frantic eyes had settled, now, calm and searching royal blue eyes looked at Virgil defensively. The tall Centaur gulped, eyes flicking from Virgil, to Virgil’s hand, to the humans, back to Virgil.

“Everything is okay, you’re safe now.”

They hesitantly stretched their arm out, resting large pale hands on Virgil’s own. Virgil quirked a lop-sided smile, and slowly began to walk away, leading them.

“That’s it, we’re gonna take you to a safer place, is that alright?”

The other nodded, messy black hair falling into their face.

“Can I ask you a few things?” Another nod.

“What’s your name?”

The (now identified to be) Shire Centaur opened their mouth, but nothing came out. With a click, their mouth snapped shut, and they shook their head.

“Not yet, huh? Don’t worry, I get it.” Virgil was calm, collected, patient. These are traits that Thomas had never seen the ex-show horse portray.

“Where are you from?” They were now out of the square, instead, walking down the alley towards the ranch again.

“Uh... T-the railr-railroad…” Their voice was hoarse, as though they hadn’t used it in a long time.

 _‘That explains the branding on their flank then…’_ Thomas thought. He waved his friends goodbye, accepting the silent ‘thank you!’.

He was sat on Roman’s back now, Patton on the other side of the Shire Centaur. Now he was looking, this Centaur had lots of visible scars. The harness they were wearing was digging into their skin, and only one arm was free, the other was attached to their waist, held in place by add-ons to that wretched harness. Their tail was very short, especially for their height, obviously being hacked off so that it wouldn’t get caught whilst working.

“How about age? How old are you?” Virgil asked, looking at them innocently.

“I- *ahem* I’m… I don’t know…” They responded, looking down in almost shame.

“You don’t have to be ashamed, kiddo!” Patton said, trotting to keep up with the giant, “You’re safe now, nobody is going to rush you. Go at your own pace.”

They smiled at the fatherly centaur, squinting slightly.

Soon, they’d reached the barn. Emile and Janus were holding back Remus, who was practically vibrating with how much he wanted to bombard this new Centaur with questions. Meanwhile, Remy trotted over to a larger stall on the far side of the barn, opening the door so Virgil and the Shire could walk in without any interruptions.

“Here. You’ll be safe here; nothing can hurt you. If you need anything, just call.” Virgil said, handing the stranger a blanket Patton had given him.

Thomas walked closer. The giant centaur looked at him apprehensively but didn’t act aggressively.

“Easy. I’m just going to take off that harness. Is that okay?”

After registering what he’d said, the other huffed, nodded, and turned away. Thomas got closer, undoing the buckles and pulling off the heavy piece of equipment with disgust. Who would do this? Centaurs were just like humans, sentient, with beliefs and opinions. It was disgusting when people treated them like mindless beasts.

Thomas slung the blanket over the Centaur’s bare body, watching them lay down onto the soft straw and lean against the wall. They watched with half-lidded eyes as the human and other Centaurs left, drifting off into a dreamless slumber.

Meanwhile, outside, Thomas and the others all took great pleasure in burning that harness into ash and dust…


	3. The Gentle Touch of the Young

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It has been a few weeks since Thomas had helped that tall Centaur from town, and yet they still haven't told anyone their name. In fact, they haven't really spoken AT ALL since they've arrived! However, today some kids are being brought in, here to be taught lessons by the Centaurs. Can they get the mysterious stranger to open up?

Today was a big day for the ranch. Contrary to popular belief, Centaurs are good with kids. Joan and Thomas managed to gather a group of children with mild learning difficulties, and they’ll be coming to the ranch to play with the centaurs. Thomas had already checked with everyone, the only ones who won’t be doing it is Remus and Remy, who are out in town today.

 _‘Hopefully, Remy can keep Remus under some form of control… Hmm, actually, letting those two out on their own with no supervision probably wasn’t my best move…’_ Thomas thought, questioning his past decisions, _‘Oh well, it’s too late now, the kids will be arriving any minute!’_

_‘Hmm, wonder if that new Centaur is good with kids. They haven’t told us their name… or anything about them… they’ve been here a few weeks though… Uhhh, maybe I should cancel?’_

As if by magic, a bus pulled into the driveway.

‘ _Oh well, too late now.’_

A woman and a man climbed out of the front seats, and Thomas and Emile went over to introduce themselves.

“Oh! Hello there, you must be Thomas and Dr. Picani.” The woman said, walking over and shaking their hands.

“Yes, but you can call me Emile.” Emile said, tail flicking.

“I’m Dot, and this is my husband Larry-.”

“I can introduce myself.” Larry hissed. He cleared his throat and shook their hands.

“I’m Larry, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” Thomas and Emile shook his hand, a little stunned at the couple’s odd relationship.

“The kids are in here, one moment.” Dot walked over to the car’s back door. Once she opened it, children tumbled out like water, chattering to each other, hugging legs, pulling tails, and generally being energetic.

“Children! Can you be- *growl* CHILDREN!!” Larry yelled, getting agitated at the disruptive behaviour. Despite Larry’s commands, the children simply ignored him, continuing their playing.

“Allow me.” Emile said, clearing his throat, “Children.”

The kids looked up at Emile curiously. Thomas could see out of the corner of his eye that Larry and Dot were very surprised.

“The other Centaurs are in the barn, why don’t you go in there and introduce yourselves, quietly. Shhhhhh…” Emile was stern yet playful in his ways.

The children pushed themselves to their feet and went inside the barn, Emile following behind them.

“Thank you again, Mr. Thomas. We’ll pick them up at 5?” Dot said, shaking his hand again.

“Sounds good! See you then!”

And with that, Larry and Dot hopped back into their car and sped away. Thomas huffed and turned around, heading back into the barn he had just seen Emile and the kids disappear into.

When he walked into the barn, he saw them all sat in a semi-circle, curled around Emile (who was lying on the ground), Dee (who was standing to Emile’s right), and Virgil (who was standing to Emile’s left). Roman was lying on the floor behind the group, listening intently to Emile, whilst Patton was fetching a few books to read from the bookshelves on the far wall.

“So, lets introduce ourselves.” Emile started, placing a hand on his chest, “My name is Emile. Now you try.”

The children all started spewing names all at once. Thomas could see Emile’s jaw tense as he cringed at the noise.

“One at a time, please,” Patton scolded softly, “remember its rude to speak over each other.” He came back with a couple of basic children’s books, piling them neatly on the little table next to Dee.

A little boy raised his hand and said, “My name is Elliot.”

“Very good, Elliot. Anyone else?”

One by one, the children said their names. After introductions were finished, Emile picked up a book and started reading to them.

Thomas sat on a chair propped up against the wall, fulling immersed in Emile’s incredible storytelling skills. So immersed, in fact, that he didn’t even notice when one child got up and wandered away, deeper and deeper into the stables…

* * *

Kai got up and wandered through the dark halls of the stables. They’d already heard the story plenty of times, and this seemed a lot more fun. Much to the child’s dismay, all the stalls were empty, save for one.

Kai turned the corner, gingerly looking into the stall. Inside was a very big Centaur. All they were wearing was dark blue quilt that was draped across their body, and they were leaning against the wall, on the floor.

They were asleep!

Kai wandered over, wringing their hands nervously, and sat against the Centaur’s visible ribcage. They leaned again the taller being, feeling the warm embrace of hooves shifting around them. The centaurs breathing was even and deep and… relaxing. Kai felt their eyes drift close, just as an arm came down an pulled them closer, into a warm and strong embrace.

* * *

It was a few hours until Thomas noticed that one of the kids was missing. He was mentally kicking himself, cursing under his breath.

_‘Jesus Christ, I need to be more observant! Kai, their name was. Where could they have gone?’_

Dot and Larry were waiting outside, the other children filing into their car slowly, to buy Thomas more time.

Thomas frantically checked every square inch of the area they were reading stories in, checking for any signs of a child. When there were none, Thomas was about to check the outside when he heard heavy hoof steps coming down the hall.

The tall centaur that he’d helped 3 weeks ago was walking down the hall, rings under his eyes from many nights staying awake, and the dark blue quilt still hanging off the horse part of his body.

“This youngling wandered in and fell asleep.” He said, handing Thomas the sleeping child. Thomas nodded his thanks and rushed outside, buckling Kai into the car. Larry and Dot said their thanks and drove away again.

Thomas and the other centaurs walked back inside, and the mysterious centaur was still there, combing a hand through his matted mane.

The other centaurs still seemed a bit tense around him, and honestly, Thomas couldn’t blame them. This mysterious stranger hadn’t revealed much about himself, other than he used to work at the railroad, and that was an easy guess based off the branding on his left flank. Despite the others, Thomas smiled at him, looking at him with kind, thankful eyes. The other squinted at him, confused almost.

“Thanks for doing that, I don’t know if I ever would have found that little rascal without Dot and Larry finding out, and that’s a can of worms I have no interest in opening.” Thomas laughed, stepping closer.

The tall centaur registered the movement, eyes widening for a second before calming. Not one for humans, huh? He cleared his throat and spoke.

“It really isn’t a bother. You’ve done so much for me, more than I deserve, it’s the least I could do.” He said, voice hoarse and raspy.

“No.” Patton said sternly, stamping a hoof on the floor. The tiny outburst got a reaction out of the other, and everyone else, including Thomas. Patton was usually so sweet and soft-spoken; this behaviour was unusual.

“Patton?” Roman asked incredulously.

“Who told you that you don’t deserve to be treated nicely?!”

The tall Centaur deflated at that, scars on his bare chest stretching with every inhale, “That’s a story for another day…”

It was Patton’s turn to deflate now, obviously upset that he wasn’t going to receive and identity of someone harming the innocent.

“However,” everyone perked up as the tall stranger kept speaking, “I do have a story for you all now.”

He murmured something quietly, large hooves shuffling, and pale hands being toyed with in front of him.

“I’m sorry, what was that?” Thomas asked sincerely, stepping closer.

“I said my name is Logan.”


	4. Recollection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan reflects about what his stay with Thomas and his new herd has been like so far...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy skittles! I am so sorry, it has been SUCH A LONG TIME since I updated this story! Just know that it hasn't been abandoned, it is still very much active! I've just been struggling with school lately, but everything is fine now! Enjoy the chapter!

Logan strolled through the meadow quietly, admiring the pale blue sky above him, painted with fluffy clouds like a flock of sheep. Large hooves contacted the soil in loud thumps as the shire couldn’t help but find himself gliding through his thoughts like a dolphin through the waves.

He’d been at Thomas’ ranch for about 5 weeks now, and not much had changed. After he’d told everyone his name, the other centaurs didn’t seem as tense around him. They still held their reservations, as to be expected, but they seemed to be able to invite him to do things than just watch him like a wild animal.

Logan hated that feeling: being treated like a wild animal. As if you have no mind, no morals, no soul. He’d experienced enough of that at the railroad, before he—

Logan shook his head, expelling the thoughts before they could progress further. A horrible place, horrible thoughts, horrible experiences. No need to dwell on the past.

Since arriving at the ranch with Thomas, and telling everyone his name, Thomas had generously given him some clothes to wear. A simple white T-shirt, and a dark blue checkered open flannel shirt for over top. Remus, one of the race twins, had approached him with a slim piece of fabric. Janus, the zebra, had tied it around his neck, in a loose knot, so it draped down his front. A tie. He liked it and thanked them gratefully. Those two had become a lot more open with him from then on, talking to him like an old friend would.

A small smile slipped onto his face.

Wait.

No! He couldn’t get attached, because then… _he_ would come back, take him away, and he’d never see any of these nice people ever again.

He appreciates the company of these centaurs and human. They were nice company, being able to sympathise with him since they’d all been through something similar. He hadn’t told them his whole story, but they seemed to be able to piece things together on their own. In return, they’d told him their stories.

Patton and Emile (the two appaloosas) were born and raised on Thomas’ farm. Though they’re not actually related, they treat each other like brothers since they grew up together.

Then there were Roman and Remus (the thoroughbred twins). They were born from fabulous ‘stock’ as the humans called it (ugh). Both fabulous racers, and both loved racing. Remus’ career was cut shorter than Roman’s, being sent into other sports he didn’t mention, but apparently, they were never meant to race. They were to be sold to breeders, to produce more fabulous offspring and continue their lineage. After running away, they ended up with Thomas, Patton and Emile.

Afterwards, you had Virgil (the nice Friesian that helped Logan). Logan had to admit that he had the best relationship with Virgil, and after hearing his story, he understood why. Virgil was a Friesian that used to perform in a travelling circus. The ringmasters used to whip his hooves as to not damage his body, which made him severely self-conscious. One night, the ringmasters became severely intoxicated, and in their drunken state, allowed a fire to blaze to life throughout the circus grounds. After the stable burnt down, Virgil managed to escape, and just kept running and running and running until he couldn’t run anymore, collapsing on the dirt path about a mile from Thomas’ ranch. Emile and Patton found him, and together with the others, they nursed him back to health.

Next, there was Remy. Remy was a pearly Lipizzaner, a Spanish horse that was bred for dancing. All his life he’d been leaping, and dancing and trotting for the entertainment of humans that had nothing else to spend their useless money on. After a daring escape from the white-haired horse, Remy had managed to slip from his master’s grasp, and breath in the refreshing air of freedom. Then, exhausted and dehydrated, starving from days on the road, he’d ended up here, with Thomas and his steadily growing herd. Remy and Emile were, in fact, ‘an item’ as Virgil called it. Remy was the closest with Logan, right after Virgil of course. Logan doesn’t understand how, but the quick-witted Lipizzaner speaks in a way that just clicks, even giving him a nickname. Logan doesn’t know what a ‘Venti Chai’ is, but it seems to make Remy happy, so he digresses.

Then you had Janus. Janus was the zebra centaur with the vitiligo on the left side of his face. Janus had escaped a zoo of sorts, simply hopping the fence and weaving through the streets of a bustling city, managing to slimly avoid recapture. He’d found himself here, miles away from any city, so only God knows how long he’d been galloping for. Very close with Remus.

According to Thomas, Logan was the first centaur that had arrived at the ranch in about 4 years. Logan wasn’t surprised in the slightest. That would explain why everyone was a little tense at first. If they hadn’t had a new arrival in 4 years, the current inhabitants might not want a new face in their tight circle to stir trouble, since their current set up seemed to appease everyone.

The others talked to him, but they had probably noticed that he didn’t talk to them back. Talking just… didn’t seem right? Back at the railroad, he’d been ‘broken in’ so that he wouldn’t speak to the humans that were in charge, simply just doing his job and nothing else. He’s been speaking a lot more than what he did, mainly to Virgil and Remy, occasionally laughing at Patton’s terrible puns, giving Roman feedback on the racer’s increasingly growing fascination on theatre, helping Janus to stop Remus doing something stupid, and obviously going with Thomas to the town.

Since his rescue, he and Thomas had grown slightly closer. He trusted the human to a ridiculous amount in his eyes, but he didn’t mind it. Thomas seemed trustworthy, he hadn’t betrayed him yet, so that must count for something.

During his stay, he’d gone with Virgil, Remy and Thomas to the small town to see the humans again, he’d even apologised to the people for the scare, but they didn’t mind, taking him in with open arms. Children played around his feet, little girls braiding his growing tail and painting over his branding with colourful paints in simple designs. That part was his favourite part since the branding has always been a source of self-consciousness. Afterwards, he’d said his thanks and farewells and went back to the barn, watching a Disney movie with the other centaurs for the first time.

Big Hero 6, Roman had told him. It might just be his favourite, because of the good plot, but also because it was his first movie.

‘It’s a milestone, Lo!’ Emile had exclaimed, joyously. Logan smiled at the happy memory, huffing a content sigh.

“LOGAN!!” Janus called from the barn, “MOVIE NIGHT!!!”

Logan turned around, waved, and started trotting towards the barn the zebra had just disappeared into.

He didn’t have anything to worry about, did he?

‘Life couldn’t be any better.’ He thought to himself, sinking onto the floor as the others crowded around him like a moth to a flame.

Meanwhile, several hundred miles away, a terrible man with scars on his face was counting his centaurs, realising one was missing, and preparing for his departure…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OooOOOOoOoOoOh! Cliffhangers!!!
> 
> THANK YOU SO MUCH FRO YOUR SUPPORT ON THIS STORY, I APPRECIATE YOU ALL SOOOO MUCH!!! <3  
> Stay safe, drink water, and smile! :)


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